


It is not Unusual

by MidnightSonder



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Lily Evans Potter Lives, Lily Lives, Manipulative Dumbledore, Morally Ambiguous Character, but he’s not evil, its dumbledore, potter/longbottom friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23097787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightSonder/pseuds/MidnightSonder
Summary: When the safety of one's family is put at risk by a serial killing madman, it is not unusual for one to make plans to ensure the safety of one's family. This is, of course, what the Potters did when they discovered Voldemort had a vested interest in preventing their son's continuation of life.
Relationships: Alice Longbottom/Frank Longbottom, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, One-sided Severus/Lily
Kudos: 24





	It is not Unusual

When the safety of one's family is put at risk by a serial killing madman, it is not unusual for one to make plans to ensure the safety of one's family. This is, of course, what the Potters did when they discovered Voldemort had a vested interest in preventing their son's continuation of life.

The couple cut themselves off from society, with the exception of a few friends, and retreated behind a fidelius charm. This charm, they hoped, would be enough to save them from being found by Voldemort.

However, it is not unusual for those, when faced with the possible deaths of their loved ones, to come up with a backup plan, just in case the first should fail. In fact, it is not unusual to come up with several plans for in the event of different outcomes. It is especially not unusual when the couple in question contains an Auror and the brightest witch of their generation.

With such genius in one couple, it is not unusual for them to have extremely talented and dedicated friends as well. Friends who, in no uncertain terms, would do anything to keep the couple and their son safe. Especially when one such friend is not only the godfather to their son, but also like a brother to the couple.

So, it is not unusual that many late nights were spent in the couple's kitchen, with their son safely asleep upstairs, planning contingencies for events that may never occur. The couple had three close friends who would join them often in their planning, however, the couple remained ever conscious of two of their friend's shortcomings and so it was not unusual for most of the planning to remain between the couple and their son's godfather.

This is not to say that the couple cut out their other two friends. In fact, the one that closely resembled a rat became their secret keeper. However, these two friends did have disadvantages that would prevent them from being able to fully assist the couple and the couple loved their friends so much that they did not want to burden them with plans that they knew their friends would not able to assist in.

It is not unusual for one to be unable to help their friend despite truly wanting to. These two friends in particular, were most commonly known as Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Although, it was not unusual for them both to be called another name as well.

The issues surrounding the two friends were quite simple; one was a werewolf and one was a coward. Now, the couple did not think less of either of their friends for either of these things, however, it did prevent them from being able to fully help to the best of their abilities. For if Lord Voldemort should come during a full moon any plan involving Remus Lupin would be useless, and if Lord Voldemort should come at all it was questionable whether Peter Pettigrew would have the courage to help.

This is one of the few things that worked in the couple's favor, for it is not unusual for a friend turned traitor to keep their change in allegiance a secret as Peter Pettigrew did. Fortunately, Peter Pettigrew did not know many of the Potters' plans and thus had little to report to Lord Voldemort.

Until the couple made one fatal miscalculation.

However, a multitude of things happened before that, as it is also not unusual for one in an extremely stressful situation, for instance having a murdering madman out to kill your infant child, to reach out to others in a similar position. James and Lily Potter may not have been close friends with Frank and Alice Longbottom in Hogwarts, but they were certainly friends upon realizing the similar positions they were in.

At first, they were both cautious to reveal their plans to each other. Not out of paranoia that the other couple would sell the information to Voldemort for their own safety, both couples thought too highly of each other to even consider the possibility, but rather out of the general paranoia that comes with having the life of your family and infant child at risk.

However, it is not unusual that this same paranoia that kept them from revealing their secrets at first eventual brought them much closer. For when one only has one other person to confide one's plans in (for similar to the Potters, the Longbottoms had only really confided in one other person, Frank's mother Augusta) it is not unusual for one to desire another person to act, if not as a confidant, then as a soundboard.

And thus, the Potters and Longbottoms shared a great deal of their plans together. Secret meetings between the six adults were disguised as play-dates between their sons and the adults took these opportunities to practice many of their plans. In this manner, the two couples were able to improve and tweak many of their plans.

It is not unusual that, having spent so much time together and assisting each other both physically and emotionally, that eventually the conversations evolved into joint plans between the couples. For both couples were kind souls and if their new friends became Voldemort's target then they would like to help in whatever manner they could, and there were oh so few people they could trust that neither couple wanted to give up the offer of additional support.

So in hindsight, it is not unusual for events to have played out the way they did, however none of the six adults could have possibly predicted the way things would unravel, for the two young couples were not the only ones making plans.

X

Lord Voldemort is many things, but indecisive is not one of them. Once presented with the option between killing a half-blood infant or a pureblood infant, he easily chose the half-blood. However, it is not unexpected or unusual that this choice presented its own problems.

The biggest problem goes by the name of Severus Snape and is a problem because it is unusual to still be desperately in love with someone who has not only ceased all contact you but married your sworn enemy and given birth to his child.

Of course there were other smaller problems, such as determining where the Potters were hiding, but the inexplicable love Severus Snape still held for Lily Potter proved to be the most grating issue for Voldemort.

Because it is not unusual for one to plead desperately for the life of the one woman you love to be spared. And so, that is what Severus Snape did, frequently.

And, considering the circumstances, (Voldemort was only interested in killing the boy, Snape was an asset that he wished to maintain, and the possibility of recruiting the Potters, however slim the possibility may be) it is not unusual that Lord Voldemort agreed to Severus Snape's demands to spare Lily Potter.

X

On the night of October 31st, after months of careful planning on behalf of both the Potters and Lord Voldemort, as any true proponent of Murphy's Law would say, it is not unusual that everything that could have gone wrong did.

Sirius Black, who had taken to spending most of his nights at the hidden Potter residence for extra security, was suddenly called away for an unexplained emergency.

Said emergency was in actuality a Death Eater ambush designed to distract attention from Lord Voldemort's attack on the Potter home.

And the unfortunate Potters, despite all their planning, were not prepared to take on a Dark Lord.

It is not unusual when faced with an emergency that one immediately forgets any plans one might have made.

So, when Lord Voldemort appeared in Godric's Hallow and magically knocked down the door of the Potter residence, James Potter, still in his pajamas, rushed from his bedroom to face the Dark Lord alone.

And, despite being an Auror and a great duelist and all around talented, it is not unusual that it took Lord Voldemort less than a minute to kill James Potter.

It is not unusual that in the couple, it was Lily Potter who remembered the plans and rushed to the nursery to save her son. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough as James Potter already lay dead at the top of the stairs and Voldemort was stepping over his body and was rapidly approaching the nursery where the sleeping Harry Potter lay.

It is not unusual for one to freeze in shock upon seeing the death of one's spouse and that is exactly what Lily Potter did as Voldemort pushed passed her. However, her grief over her husband was not so great as to blind her to the soon-to-be fate of her son. And as Voldemort raised his wand arm and opened his mouth to speak that same incantation that stole the life of James Potter only seconds before, it is not at all unusual that Lily Potter found the strength to leap in front of her son's crib.

Just as Voldemort is not indecisive, he is also not a slow reactor. As Lily Potter appeared before him, Voldemort was given the sudden choice to keep his promise to Severus Snape and spare her or simply kill her. He was not sure which option was more merciful and he was not in the business of caring even as he made the split-second decision to change his killing curse into a strong stunner.

Nonetheless, whether Voldemort cast the infamous killing curse or not, when Lily Potter jumped in front of her son's crib she did so with the intent of dying for him and a mother's sacrifice is a mother's sacrifice, regardless of whether or not she actually died; it is the intent that matters.

So when Lord Voldemort raised his arm once more to cast the killing curse and finally fulfill the prophecy it is not unusual that instead of doing as it was supposed to and killing the infant before him, it rebounded and destroyed the physical form of the Dark Lord known as Lord Voldemort.

X

It is not unusual that Sirius Black, gifted young man that he was, realized that he had been sent into an ambush and escaped just before several dozen curses could be showered down upon him.

It is also not unusual that the first place he went, upon realizing the ambush, was Godric's Hallow to check on the safety of his friends.

It is not unusual that upon seeing the destruction that was the home of his two best friends that Sirius Black nearly fell to his knees in horror.

It is not unusual that he did fall to his knees when he saw the body of his best friend laying at the top of the stairs.

It is not unusual that, as still as she lay, he assumed Lily Potter to be as equally dead as her husband.

It is not unusual that, upon hearing the faint cries of a baby, Sirius Black pushed himself out of his grief briefly to see what had become of his godson.

It is not unusual that at the sight of his godson, crying like a banshee and bleeding from his forehead but otherwise alright, Sirius Black allowed fat tears to roll down his cheeks.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black swore, then and there, that he would do everything in his power to keep his godson safe until his dying breath.

It is not unusual that baby Harry quieted when his godfather picked him up, despite the large tears still running down his face.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black, grief-stricken from the loss of his family, suddenly remembered the plan for the scenario where both James and Lily were killed.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black mentally gripped the plan as if it were a lifeline and he was drowning.

It is not unusual that he held his godson slightly too tightly as he fled the home, all of his energy focused on getting his godson somewhere safe.

It is not unusual that the sudden arrival of Rubeus Hagrid startled him.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black refused to hand his godson over to the half-giant on Dumbledore's word that the baby would be safe. That same word had promised that James and Lily would be safe under the fidelius charm.

And it is certainly not unusual that Sirius Black upon being cornered, stunned the half-giant and apparated away.

X

It is not unusual that Voldemort, massive control freak that he was, forced all Death Eaters to be marked with a special symbol that linked them to him, so it is not unusual that upon his destruction they were all made immediately aware due to this bond.

The unexpected disappearance of their master caused mass panic among the Death Eaters who suddenly had no directions on what to do.

This is with the exception of one Death Eater by the name of Severus Snape who was filled with hope that the disappearance of Voldemort meant that the life of the woman he loved had not been recklessly ended.

It is not unusual that the young potions master immediately rushed to Godric's Hallow to discover for himself whether Lily Potter had lived.

Naturally, he was horrified minutes later to see the young woman lying unnaturally still on the ground.

It is not unusual that he also assumed her to be dead, and fell to his knees in grief.

However, Lily Potter was not dead.

And so, it is not unusual or strange or even slightly surprising that upon waking in a sobbing Severus Snape's arms, with her husband's dead body only feet from her and her infant son's crib empty, that Lily Potter immediately went into hysterics.

It is also not unusual that Severus Snape dropped Lily Potter on the ground in shock the moment it registered in his mind that she was not dead.

It is not unusual that this sudden, though not large, fall shocked Lily out of her shock.

It may have been unusual, but it was certainly not surprising that, childhood friends or not, Lily Potter drew her wand on the Death Eater sitting in her nursery and demanded to know where her son was.

It was also not surprising that Severus Snape had no answers, for he did not care in the least what happened to her son and had not even realized that the crib was empty.

It is not unusual that Lily Potter immediately left the house in search of her missing son.

Luckily for her, just outside the house, a stunned half-giant was also waking up. A half-giant who was gob smacked to see Lily Potter standing before him. This half-giant quickly relayed to her that her son was alive and Sirius Black had taken him Merlin-knows-where.

It is not unusual that Lily Potter refused Hagrid's assistance in pursuing Sirius Black for she remembered the plan and knew exactly where he was, and, as much as she believed in Hagrid's good-intentions, Sirius would not have stunned the half-giant without good reason and, as he currently was protecting her son, at the moment Sirius Black was the only person Lily Potter trusted.

X

It is not unusual that the first thing Sirius did after reaching the safe house was contact the Longbottoms. He didn't know Voldemort's plans and there was a chance that the Longbottoms were going to be attacked next.

As Sirius Black went to contact Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew however, he realized there would have to be a change in plans.

Peter Pettigrew had been the Potter's secret keeper which meant that he was the only one who could have sold the Potters out to Voldemort was Peter and suddenly Sirius Black felt like he was free falling.

It is not unusual that suddenly just having a plan did not seem like good enough preparation at all. Sirius Black didn't know who he could trust, barring the Longbottoms. He wanted to believe that Remus and Hagrid and Dumbledore were all still his allies and that he could trust them, but it is not unusual that in the light of Peter's betrayal he couldn't bring himself to risk it.

Fortunately, he did not have to wallow in this mindset for long as only minutes after he arrived the door burst open and Lily Potter stepped inside the small building.

Sirius Black whirled around, clutching baby Harry in one hand and his wand in the other. It is up to the discretion of the reader to decide which he was griping tighter.

It is not unusual that Lily Potter's voice was high pitched and desperate as she urgently tried to convince Sirius Black that she was not an illusion, and was, in fact, not dead.

Sirius Black, paranoid as he was at the moment, was quick to believe. It is unknown whether that was because he knew her so well that he instantly recognized her or because he so desperately wanted it to be true.

But it is not unusual that as soon as Sirius's wand was down, the two were embracing, nearly squishing Harry to death in the process. Sirius passed Lily her son and she smothered her baby in kisses until her relief turned into tears and Sirius was gently holding her again.

They spent the remainder of the night huddled together on the couch, unable to sleep and unwilling to let each other part from sight lest they were an illusion. However, eventually exhaustion over took them and a restless sleep found them, if only for a few hours.

X

It is not unusual for plans to have to change suddenly, and Lily and Sirius awoke knowing they would have to make some adjustments, however they severely underestimated how big the adjustments would have to be as the next morning also brought the news that Voldemort was dead.

The news was delivered in person by Augusta Longbottom herself, one of three, formerly four, other people who knew the location of the safe house.

However, Augusta did not only bring good news. Along with news of Voldemort's death was an arrest warrant for one Sirius Black who was wanted in suspicion of being a Death Eater.

It is not unusual for one to become completely and utterly enraged, especially after a trying event such as the attempted murder of one's family.

And so, it surprised no one, that Sirius Black darkly swore that he would prove his innocence by bringing in the real rat that had betrayed them.

Unfortunately, it is not unusual that plans made in a fit a rage rarely work out.

X

It is not unusual for one to be so consumed in one's own issues that one fails to notice the plans made by others.

Thus is the scenario that Lily Potter finds herself in upon arriving at the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters to find that funeral preparations were already underway for not only James but Lily as well, and a manhunt was being planned to find Sirius Black.

Given the above statements about funeral plans, it is not unusual that the assembled members of the Order of the Phoenix were quite shocked to see Lily Potter walk into the middle of their meeting.

One might think that things could not get worse for Lily, and one would be wrong. If things had been going downhill before, then now they had sudden rolled off a cliff and were free falling into a pit of razor sharp rocks.

Because Dumbledore also had been making plans; plans that had not accounted for Lily Potter surviving. Dumbledore, though he liked the Potters and did not relish their deaths, had accepted that it was the best option and necessary to triumph over Voldemort (as with James and Lily dead and Sirius Black incarcerated then Dumbledore alone would have influence over the young Harry Potter) as Dumbledore was nearly positive that the Dark Lord was not truly dead.

And unfortunately for Lily Potter, Dumbledore was a faster planner.

It only took the suggestion of letting someone else hold her son for while to set Lily off, and this was reason enough for Dumbledore to sadly claim she was hysterical over the loss of her husband and have her admitted to St. Mungo's psychiatric ward, for her own safety of course. Leaving Harry in the hands of Dumbledore who had decided to continue with his plan to the best of his ability and left the baby at the doorstep of the Dursley residence.

However, while Dumbledore might have been a faster planner, Lily Potter was still the brightest witch of her generation and just as one knows not to get between a mother bear and its cub, one should also not get between Lily Potter and her son.

It is not unusual that in three days Lily Potter was able to invent a genius plan, and it is not unusual that on each of the three days that plan had to change slightly.

For on day two, Sirius Black found Peter Pettigrew and it is not unusual that one as treacherous and cowardly as Peter Pettigrew would be willing to blow up an entire street in order to fake his own death and escape leaving Sirius Black to answer for crimes he did not commit.

Worse yet, in the evening of day three, Alice Longbottom returned home to find the dark mark hanging above her home; inside her son sat screaming, her husband lay dead, and her mother-in-law lay close to death. For the remaining Death Eaters had also made plans, plans for revenge on those who had stood against their Lord.

Early in the morning on day four, Alice Longbottom found herself at St. Mungo's in a similar state to Lily Potter. Her husband was dead, her son had been separated from her, and her only other ally was physically unable to help her.

So, considering the circumstances, it is not at all unusual that Alice Longbottom decided to break Lily Potter, the only person left that she trusted, out of St. Mungo's psychiatric ward.

X

It is not unusual that two women as talented as Alice Longbottom and Lily Potter were easily able to discover the location of their children.

Neville had been taken temporarily to the Weasley home as Molly Weasley had already had seven children and briefly watching one more was a simple task for the matronly woman. However, as capable of watching children as she was, Molly Weasley was still human and it is not unusual that she had fallen asleep in the nursery rocking chair, particularly because it was so early that the sun had not yet risen.

It was a simple matter for Alice to walk over and pluck her son from the makeshift crib he was laying in while Lily acted as a lookout.

It was mere minutes before the two women were at the Dursley residence which stood silent in the darkness. Lily easily made her way upstairs to the nursery expecting to find her son in the same room as Petunia's son Dudley.

However, the Dursleys had not put Harry in Dudley's nursery. In fact, they had not Harry in any of the rooms in their house. For the Dursleys were strong believers in the motto, "Out of sight, out of mind" and had shut Harry in the cupboard under the stairs.

Because of this, it took Lily Potter several agonizing minutes to discover her son.

It is not unusual that, in her rage at her sister's cruel treatment, Lily Potter decided to steal the Dursley's car and perhaps a spare change of clothes for both her and Alice.

Of course, borrowing the car had been in Lily's plan to begin with, as neither woman trusted magical transportation at the moment, however she had originally planned on returning it.

Now, however, upon arriving at the airport, Lily handed the car keys to a homeless man and wiped his memory of both her and the airport.

It is not unusual that the morning of November 4th, 1981 that Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom took their sons and disappeared.

It is not unusual that, as they boarded a plane for the distant United States, for once neither woman had a plan.

**Author's Note:**

> It is not unusual for an author, who despite having not only many other stories to work on, but assignments for school as well, to begin another series that they likely don't have the time to finish.
> 
> Just joking, this is a stand alone one-shot (for now).
> 
> I know that not all of the uses of ‘It is not unusual’ fit quite right but I had to do it for the A E S T H E T I C


End file.
